5 Bullet Fridays: Parshas Ki Savo

 

❓Question I am pondering:

 

In the passuk of “baruch ata b'vo'echa...” Rashi (28:6) explains that just as one enters the world pure and without sins, so too will one leave the world with no sin. However, following this explanation, it should be that the meaning of the passuk in the to'che'cha of “arur ata b'vo'echa…” should mean that just as you were cursed coming into the world, so too will you be when you leave. How could this be true if everyone comes into the world pure?

 

💡 Idea I am thinking about:

 

The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. This adage boldly states that communication is more effective than violence. Actions sometimes speak louder than words, but other times words have a longer lasting impact than actions. Writing in particular is quite powerful. Hashem doesn’t merely keep in mind what each person’s judgement is for the year, it is written. Writing is a strong form of putting thoughts or speech onto paper and is also a good way to achieve clarity. This week I saw someone comment, “Writing is often the process by which you realize that you do not really understand what you are talking about”.

 

 💢Concept I am considering:

 

Meisis and Madiach. A meisis refers to someone who entices people in B’nei Yisroel to do avodah zarrah; while a madiach refers to doing this at a larger scale – enticing the majority of a city.  The punishments of these transgressions are extremely severe as we are responsible not only for what we do ourselves but also for the influence we have on those around us.

 

 

👑 Hashkafic idea I am reflecting on:

 

Growth Takes Time. The last Rashi in this week’s parsha comments back on a few passukim earlier to provide another explanation to the passuk of, “Yet until this day, Hashem did not give you a heart to know”, as follows: It takes 40 years for one to properly understand the depths of one’s Rebbe’s teachings. Therefore, Moshe was warning that this moment – about 40 years after receiving the Torah – Hashem would start being strict on our adherence to the miztvos, prompting the last passuk in the parsha to command, “…And you shall observe the words of this bris and fulfill them, in order that you will succeed in all that you do”. If we could imagine that the B’nei Yisroel who received the Torah from Hashem Himself at Har Sinai and taught by Moshe rabbeinu in an environment without any stresses surrounded by the ananei ha’kvod and eating manna, needed 40 years to grow to a level of keeping the mitzvos properly, then how much more so does this apply to us. Not that we can excuse ourselves for not trying hard to do our best to keep all the mitzvos, but to allow ourselves to do teshuva and be forgiving on ourselves that it is okay to not be perfect and that that was never the expectation. The expectation is to want to achieve closeness to Hashem through keeping His Torah and mitzvos and to try our very best to get there. Growth takes time. The idea is to keep growing.

 

😀 Middah on my mind:

 

Confidence. I saw a quote this week, “Confidence is not telling yourself “They will like me”, rather it is knowing “I’ll be fine if they don’t”. Self-esteem is quite different from ego. Ego attaches one’s feelings to the perceptions of others which is the same channel that could destroy confidence. When we have to use so much brain power worrying about what others are thinking about us there quickly becomes little capacity left to think about anything else.